Silent Substitute
by Rain-Tsuki
Summary: The Chosen One, Ash Ketchum, died the womb. The Legendaries with the blessing of Arceus manage to track down soul from another world to take over the body of what would have been his never born twin and perform the much needed duties of the Chosen One. However, there was one tiny problem. Fuller summary in my profile.
1. Prelude

Disclaimer: Pokemon is owned by Game Freak. I do not own and am merely borrowing without permission. I promise to give the characters back after I'm done with them. They won't be too messed up, hopefully.

AN: Ok. This is probably going to end up a Mary-Sue fic, fair warning. This idea has just been bothering me so much that I had to get it down in print and thought I would put it out there for all of you. Also on a note, Arceus in my mind is an "it" rather than male or female. It can be both or neither depending of how it feels. It is referred to as "Lord Arceus" by the Legendaries.

Prelude to Change

Arceus had not seen this coming. Hell, no one had thought it possible. The Chosen One, the one who was fated to unite the world of man and mon, had died in the womb. A miscarriage through no fault of his mother.

"Lord Arceus, what can be done?" Lugia spoke up from the gathering of Legendary Pokemon. The True Legendaries, the firsts of their kind and thus responsible for their individual spheres of influence, had felt the bright soul of the Chosen reenter the afterlife. Darkrai had confirmed that the soul had already been cleansed and thus could not be placed back in mortal flesh for a number of mortal years.

"Nothing. We must wait until the Chosen's soul is ready for rebirth," the Alpha Pokemon sighed and bowed its head. Many of the gathered grumbled.

"That's impossible. Too many plans and prophecies have come to this point. Without the Chosen, the world will die," Giratina warned solemnly. The ghostly dragon shook his head and settled next to his arguing brethren. The others began to mutter and argue amongst themselves. The voices raised in a low roar. Only Mew remained out of the verbal arguing and settled beside Arceus.

"Lord Arceus," Mew squeaked, her soft voice barely being heard over the shouts and snarled that had erupted between the Legendary Beasts and the Swords of Justice. The Alpha Pokemon turned its attention on the psychic pink feline and gave a soft noise of acknowledgment. "The other child, could something be done with it?"

All arguing in the room stopped. "Other child?" Celebi asked from his position on Kyogre's head. "What other child? The Chosen was always meant to be a single child. No siblings."

"The Chosen had a vanished twin," Mew explained. "I thought everyone read that part of the report."

Arceus nodded sagely then frowned. "The twin has no soul, though perhaps. Darkrai."

"Yes."

"Can you locate a soul strong enough for the Blessings?"

Darkrai snorted derisively. "Not among the souls in my domain. The souls either aren't strong enough or so weighed down by corruption that the Blessings would destroy it."

"What about a soul from another world?" Giratina suddenly spoke up. "Could an outside soul take the strain?"

Darkrai thought the scenario over. Every eye of the gathering rested unblinkingly on him. "It is...possible, but there might be issues with a foreign soul taking to a body from this world."

"Then go, Darkrai, Giratina, and find a soul that can bare the weight of the Chosen's destiny," Arceus ordered. The two Legendaries, the Lord of Nightmares who watched over the dead and the Renegade Lord of the Distortion World, rose together and made their way from the Hall of Origin.

"Perhaps we have a chance," Reshiram, ever the optimist, stated with a hopeful grin.

"Don't get too excited. Darkrai did say their could be issues," Zekrom snarked and snapped at the fiery member of his trio.

"Enough!" Arceus roared. "We deal with what comes. Everyone, dismissed to your duties."

And thus did the story of Ash Ketchum end and the story of the foreign souled trainer begin...


	2. Chapter 1

Means sign language being used

_Means telepathy_

__**Means pokespeech**

Chapter 1

Ashira Ketchum watched with muted excitement as a rerun of the Indigo league Championship Finals. A smirk played over her lips as she watched one challenger make a stupid mistake as he ordered his Nidorino to leap at the ghost-type. With a shake of her head, she turned off the television and pulled the covers of her bed down.

"Ash, honey," her mother called. Ash sighed and knocked on the wall, the signal to her mother that it was ok to come inside. "It's nearly 11:00. You should get to bed, after all, you've got a meeting with Professor Oak in the morning."

Ashira, who went by the shortened name Ash, nodded enthusiastically and brought her hands up in front of her. Her fingers moved into familiar forms as she "spoke" with her mother. The spiky haired girl had never spoken a word in her life. For some reason even the best doctor's in Kanto were unable to figure out why she was incapable of speech. Her vocal cords were fine and fully developed. She was able to comprehend language and had learned language, evidenced by her necessary proficiency with sign language. Her brain just didn't send signals to her vocal cords. If it wasn't for a unique quirk of fate, Ash wouldn't be able to go on the Pokemon journey she had been dreaming of for years.

"I know you're excited, but if you don't get to bed soon, then you know you'll sleep past your alarm again. We didn't go through all that paperwork and those lessons in Saffron just for you to not get up in time for your meeting with the professor," Delia Ketchum lectured as she turned off the lights in her daughter's room. "Good night, Ashira."

With a snort at her mother's use of her whole name, Ash laid down to bed and closed her eyes. Despite all the excitement, sleep eventually came to the pre-teen.

* * *

The air was calm and cold. Mist swirled around Ash's feet as she looked around the void she had been brought to. Muffled noises filtered through the air. An explosion here. A cry of pain there. Warm air rushed over tanned skin and just as quickly changed to frigid winter cold. Rat-tat-tat-tat. A machine gun shot something in the distance.

"It was war," a female voice spoke up from behind Ash. The dark haired girl spun around and came face to chest with an older woman. Looking up, Ash met dull green eyes that carried sadness and a sort of helplessness that made her heart ache.

"Hard to believe, isn't it?" the woman whispered as the sound of a bomb going off echoed around them. "Still maybe what experiences I gained in this harsh life will aid you in yours. War, battle, is coming. I knew that when I agreed to this. I didn't expect to ever come face to face with myself."

"What?" Ash whispered and gasped in shock. Her hands gingerly touched her throat. The woman let out a low chuckle of amusement. "How?"

"This is the inner sanctum of your soul. Of course you can speak here."

"Who are you?"

"Me?" The woman's lips quirked up into a smirk as a bit of amusement and mischief sparked in her eyes. The war sounds suddenly grew in a crescendo. The woman shook her head and placed a single finger on Ash's forehead. "I am the you that was. Now, take my gift. This is just the start of the leak in the dam. Good luck and live the life I couldn't."

Before Ash could respond, the world turned right as an explosion split the air. The roar of a Pokemon followed her into the waking world.

* * *

Ash woke with a sharp inhale of air. Her lungs heaved. She had the distinct feeling that if she had a voice, she would have woken her mother with a scream. Her head throbbed. With an annoyed click of the tongue, she sat up and rubbed her temples in an effort to stop the pounding. Absently she looked up at her alarm clock and choked. She only had ten minutes to get over to Professor Oak's house.

Getting ready was a blur of clothing being thrown on and running out the house like a mad woman. As she ran down the road toward the professor's house, she had to stop to take in the sight of the arrogant jerk she had at one time considered a friend. Gary Azure Oak stood before the gathering of Pallet Town residents. A cheerleader squad of Gary's fangirls from the local school cheered as he strutted and posed about. Then he caught sight of the mute girl.

"Well, well, Ashy. A bit late, aren't you?" he sneered down at her from his slightly taller frame. She rolled her eyes and made a few hand signs. Most of the people in Pallet Town had learned some sign language after they found out what was wrong with Delia Ketchum's rather quiet child. It had been wonderful when the town rallied around them both, or so her mother told her repeatedly. The Oaks, due in part to Delia's work with them as a breeder, had learned more than most and were nearly fluent in it.

Yes, Gary. I slept in a bit, but I'm not late. Now, if you would excuse me, I have an appointment with the professor.

With an absent wave, she purposefully ignored Gary's attempts to bait her into an argument. A few more signs, mainly stating how weak the Oak boy was to need as much help as he was getting in his journey, and she was off again with a bright smile on her face. Behind her, Gary yelled and called out to her before giving up and beginning on his way in one of his cheerleader's car.

The door to the lab was open. Going inside, she pressed the green button of the wall mounted intercom. A loud tone echoed throughout the complex. A muffled curse that her mother would have washed her mouth out for came from the back. Ash laughed her silent laugh and made her way toward the back where the pokeball transfer equipment was kept.

"Ash? You're a bit late," Professor Oak stated as he met her halfway.

Gary.

"Ah, I will never understand what happened to you two. Well, what's in the past and all. Now, I take it you want your starter Pokemon?" The mute girl enthusiastically nodded. "Well, you see, Gary took the last of my starters for this year. The others came earlier than normal to pick up theirs."

Ash stared at him in shock. Her mouth fell open as her fists clenched at her side. Her eyes began to tear up as she turned her best growlith eyes on the older, soon to be panicking, man. Everyone knew Delia Ketchum was overprotective of her little girl. The last idiot to mess with her ended up with a broken leg due to Delia and her vulpix.

"Now, now, Ash. I do have another Pokemon, but it may be a bit for a new trainer." He paused, a thoughtful look coming over his face. "Before that, thought, we have to talk about the paperwork you and your mom submitted to the league."

He went back into the pokeball storage unit and returned with two pokeballs in hand. "This one is the Pokemon I was talking about. We'll get to him in a minute. This one is from a specialty breeder in the Johto region." With a flick of the wrist, he released the Pokemon within. A Natu with an orange headband chirped at it appeared and looked up at Ash and Professor Oak. "This Natu has been specially trained to act as a bridge between a weak psychic and other people. According to the information the breeder sent me, he can act as a bridge between you and humans."

Ash's eyes got huge as she turned to the Natu who was looking her over. It raised a tiny wing in greeting.

_Yo! _a male voice echoed in her mind. The bird lowered its wing. _My instructor called me Koe. I take it you're Ashira Ketchum?_

Ash nodded as a face splitting grin came over her face. Eyes lit up in joy and happiness. Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes. She knelt to the ground and reached out to touch the small bird Pokemon's head.

_Yes, my name's Ashira. I prefer Ash though. Are you...can you project my thoughts to humans?_ Ash asked the Pokemon. After an entire summer of studying at the Saffron City Gym, she had managed learn how to communicate mentally with Pokemon. Humans were outside of her reach for a reason none of the instructors or even the gym leader could figure out. Normally it was the opposite. Psychics could normally talk to humans better than non-psychic Pokemon.

_That's what I was trained for!_ the rather cheerful Pokemon assured her. _Just give me a moment to finish the connection and I'll be able to send your thoughts to humans like instructor taught me._

A watery smile on her lips, she stood and signed her thanks to the professor. He nodded with slightly misty eyes. "I'm glad this will work out for you, Ash."

_And connection complete. I'll start transmitting your thoughts, Ash. _the cheery Natu chirped in her head. It's eyes seemed to shimmer for a moment before going back to normal.

_Professor, can you hear me?_ Ash cautiously asked through the psychic link Koe had formed.

"Ash, that's amazing. I can hear you perfectly fine. I know you're probably excited about this, but I do need to give you your Pokedex and pokeballs, not to mention the Pokemon I promised you."

Ash, suppressing the giddy emotions that were doing their best to boil over, she nodded manically and practically hopped over to the professor. He handed her a slim, red piece of hardware, her Pokedex. Being the curious girl she was, she opened it.

The Pokedex dinging before a male voice came from the speaker. "I'm Dexter, a Pokedex programmed by Professor Oak for Pokemon Trainer Ashira Ketchum of the town of Pallet Town. My function is to provide Ash with information and advice regarding Pokémon and their training. If lost or stolen, I cannot be replaced."

_So cool!_ Ash mentally squealed. Professor Oak winced at the volume and sent a slightly baleful look at the Natu. Somehow the lipless bird seemed to be smirking at him.

"Ash, there's another function of Dexter. I had to program it in special for yours. Hit the blue button."

"Ashira Ketchum has special license from the Pokemon League to carry 7 Pokemon on her person provided one of the Pokemon is her registered assistance Natu."

_Thank you, Professor. Noe, about my starter?_

"Ah, I caught him a few days ago around out extra generators. He's a Pikachu, a rather odd one at that. He's very stubborn and a bit violent. Hopefully you can figure out what's wrong with his attitude." With those words and a silent prayer to whatever deity that could hear him that he was not making a mistake, he release the Pikachu from the pokeball.

"**Finally,"** the Pikachu muttered and froze as he noticed the two humans and the Natu with the brightly colored headband staring at him. The graying man had a rather wary look. Good, he had been the one to knock him out with that Geodude. The female human, however, seemed to be forcing herself not to laugh. Her shoulders were shaking with the effort.

"**What's so funny, huh? You laughin' at me?"** he boasted. His cheek pouched sparked in challenge. It was too much for Ash, who doubled over in silent laughter. The Natu chittered as it looked at the electric mouse.

_That has to be the funniest thing I've heard since one of the Vulpix pups Mom was raising thought he was "gangsta'."_

The Pikachu blinked one, twice, and yet again at the female voice in his head. **"What?"**

_I'm mute, no voice at all. I was born with the ability to mentally communicate with Pokemon, understand most of them, too. Koe here helps me speak to humans by transmitting my thoughts to them. Now, the Professor wants me to be your trainer. _

At those words, the Pikachu let out a thunderbolt at the humans in annoyance. A moment later the two humans coughed while the Natu snuck out from where it had taken cover under a table. The female human's blinked, stunned for a moment, before she bared her teeth in a silent snarl. He never saw the psychic attack from the annoyed Natu. Ash's eyes were narrowed at fainted electric mouse.

_You are going to regret that, mousey. You are coming with me whether yo like it or not. _She turned to the professor. _I'll take him. Stubborn and violent, but I can work with him a bit. I've got a feeling I know what's wrong with him. He reminds me of that Seel Mom helped a few years ago._

Professor oak coughed for a moment and shook his head slightly. "If you think you can handle him."

Ash smirked at him and have the graying man a thumbs up. _Of course I can. I'm going to be a __Pokemon Master after all._

* * *

AN: So what does everyone think? I've introduced some major ideas in this chapter.

1. Ashira "Ash" Ketchum is mute. She has a voice box, but something is keeping her brain from using it. She cannot make any vocalizations that involve the vocal cords. She can cough, snort, click her tongue, ect.

2. Ash has the ability to speak to Pokemon mentally. This ability does not cross over into humans. There is a reason for this. It might be obvious to some people why. I'll offer a cameo appearance for the first person to send me a PM with the correct guess.

3. Ash now has a Natu. Natu has an orange headband because all of the service dogs for the deaf in my area tend to wear orange vests. I thought that a psychic type who can communicate with people might be used for the deaf as well. Koe (which means "voice" by the way) was specially trained to help Ash with her problem. I chose a Natu because they're small and I think they're cute.

4. This will be a mix of Anime and Game verse. I'll pick and choose which parts I want to include. A bit of fannon may end up working its way in.

Any questions, ask them in a review. For that matter, please review. I enjoy reading them. They make me happy and I tend to write more often when I'm happy.


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